


Don't think...

by foggynite



Series: Let It Burn [4]
Category: Was Tun Wenn's Brennt? | What To Do In Case Of Fire (2001)
Genre: Domestic, F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 05:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30067491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggynite/pseuds/foggynite
Summary: Tim doesn't want the same things anymore...
Relationships: Maik/Tim (Was Tun Wenn's Brennt?), Nele/Terror (Was Tun Wenn's Brennt?)
Series: Let It Burn [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211987





	Don't think...

**Author's Note:**

> Written at some point between 2003 and 2005. I think. Don't quote me on that.
> 
> This may not make as much sense without reading the rest of the fics in this series.

Tim keeps washing the dishes even though Nele has paused in the middle of drying a plate. Glancing over his shoulder, he follows her line of sight to Terror and Damian. 

Glasses askew, Terror is cradling Damian in his arms on the couch, tiny yappy dog lying across his feet. The two-year-old is resting peacefully, little hand curled around Terror's fingers and refusing to let go. The look of fascination on Terror's face is unguarded as he watches the boy sleep.

The tableau makes something in Tim's chest ache, and he can't decide if it's a good feeling or not. When Nele smiles to herself and returns her attention to the plate at hand, he thinks that maybe it's happiness and fear of this changing and love and protectiveness in him. So many years, and don't they deserve to have something go right?

When he hands Nele the next dish to dry, their eyes meet, and he arches his eyebrow with a smirk. She ducks her head, nearly blushing, before she gently punches him.

"You look like Maik when you do that," she murmurs. 

Tim shrugs, rinsing a glass, and looks away. He deserved that one.

"He grows on you..." His grin becomes softer, and he schools his face into something resembling his usual stoicism. "...Like a flesh-eating disease."

She chuckles, like she was supposed to, and her eyes are drawn back to the sofa. Absently, she sets the dried plate on the counter and takes the glass from him.

"Who ever thought we'd end up here, huh?" She asks, so quietly he almost doesn't hear her over his own splashing.

Shrugging, Tim adds more soap to the water. "Can't say I ever expected the way things turned out, but I think I can live with it."

"Yeah, me too." Her smile takes years away. 

They continue cleaning for a long moment before she speaks again. Her tone now is speculative but teasing. "You think he'll ever get around to asking me?"

Tim doesn't need clarification. "You could always be the one to do it. You're not getting any younger, you know. We'll have to wheel the two of you down the aisle."

He deserved that punch, too. 

But she's shaking her head with a fond smile. "I don't want to rush him. Me, I've had over six years to get used to the idea of being a parent... But Melli likes him. We've already gotten her-- rather vehement-- approval."

The girl probably demanded to know when Terror was going to be her official dad in the middle of dinner or something. Tim can imagine Terror choking on his drink and sputtering while Nele told her not to talk with her mouth full. Not that Melli is as straight-forward as her mother or anything.

"It's Terror," Tim finally responds. "He'll want everything in order, all the way through to Dami's college plans, before he even thinks about asking."

"True." She doesn't so much relax as merely concede the obvious with a fond grin.

The silence between them is easy and comfortable, and the apartment is quiet enough that they can hear Melli dictating the proper way to tell a bedtime story to Hotte down the hall. It's so different from the controlled chaos of when they were kids, the noise of Manchow St. and their own little world of revolution. The spirit is still there, though. He's sure of it.

"Did you ever..." Nele trails off, prompting Tim to look at her. She gives a half-shrug and sheepish laugh. "Did you ever picture any of us with kids? Like, real parents?"

An echo of an earlier conversation they had, months ago, but this time without echoes of Tim's scandalized betrayal. He takes the time to consider it, to really think.

He couldn't have imagined it back then. But, after everyone had moved on, when he would think about Flo and fantasize about her coming back, yeah. He had hopes he'd never shared with anyone, even Hotte. Little blonde children calling him "Pappa," abstract faces and genderless, just these hollow presences in his perfect-life scenarios, but nothing real. 

Helping Nele with Melli and Damian made him realize just how naive those daydreams had been. In reality, he likes kids-- he does-- just to a certain degree and separation. Damian doesn't do much besides squawk and make a mess. Melli's fine because she's like a little adult most of the time, and he can handle that. Bring any of her friends into the equation, and he can see why Terror is scared shitless at the thought of being a dad. 

Would he want a kid of his own someday? The question doesn't bring with it any specific yearning or pain. In fact, he's almost indifferent to it. 

Noticing Nele's curious gaze, he shrugs. 

"I never really thought about it."

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr


End file.
